A Starbucks barista at a Kroger grocery store in Middletown, Ohio, was reportedly fired after writing, “racists fav drink” on an order that referenced assassinated Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
“I don’t even support Starbucks [because] of everything they stand for,” a woman named Autumn Perkins said in a Sunday Facebook post, adding, “But I support Charlie Kirk so I thought you know what… I’ll get his drink.”
“Thank you Starbucks for proving to me exactly why I prefer to support my small local Christian owned and operated coffee shop. Well done,” Perkins continued, sharing a photo of her Starbucks drink with the words “racists fav drink” scrawled on the cup.
Perkins added that the Starbucks she went to was located “inside of Kroger on Towne Blvd” in Middletown, Ohio.
Notably, the drink Perkins ordered was a Mint Majesty tea with two honey packets — Charlie Kirk’s favorite Starbucks order.
As Breitbart News reported, Starbucks customers have been ordering the drink in honor of the assassinated Turning Point USA founder, who once said he drank the beverage on a daily basis to prevent from losing his voice.
After previously being asked to reveal his go-to Starbucks order, Kirk had replied, “It is literally just Mint Majesty tea with two honeys, and I drink like nine of them a day, otherwise I would lose my voice.”
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A Kroger spokesperson confirmed to the Cincinnati Enquirer that a Starbucks employee has been fired after the incident, adding that the behavior does not reflect the grocery store’s values.
“Writing this on a cup is unacceptable,” a Starbucks spokesperson told the newspaper in a separate statement. “We have policies that prohibit negative messages to help preserve a welcoming environment.”
This is not the first Starbucks incident involving a supporter of Kirk who ordered a Mint Majesty tea with two honey packets.
Last week, a video posted to social media appeared to show a Starbucks employee refusing to write “Charlie Kirk” on a coffee cup. After being asked why, the barista replied, “Because it’s political.”
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Starbucks responded to the video by announcing, “There are no restrictions on customers using Charlie Kirk’s name on their order,” and declared the company aims to “respect” customers’ name preference on coffee cups, “including the name Charlie Kirk.”
“Most customers use their own name. And when a customer wants to use a different name — including the name Charlie Kirk — when ordering their drink in our café, we aim to respect their preference,” Starbucks said.
The company added that while previous guidance had urged customers “to use a different name when attempting to use political slogans or phrases in place of their name,” Starbucks is “clarifying with our team now that names, on their own, can be used by customers on their café order, as they wish.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
